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Blast from the past: from the bowels of cyberspace…
…back in 2010 (nothing has changed, unsurprisingly).
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2020: Philosophers who passed away
MOVING TO FRONT FROM THIS MORNING, UPDATED The passing of the following philosophers was noted on the blog during 2020: Dan W. Brock, Mario Bunge, George Dickie, David Efird, Gerald ("Jerry") Gaus, Ruth Gavison, Ronald Giere, Colin Howson, Joel Kupperman, J.R. Lucas, Jack Macintosh, David Charles McCarty, Brian McGuinness, D.H. (Hugh) Mellor, Philippe Mongin, J.…
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In Memoriam: David Charles McCarty (1953-2020)
Professor McCarty, who taught for many years at Indiana University in Bloomington, was best-known for work in the history and philosophy of logic and mathematics. The Indiana memorial notice is here. (Thanks to Dirk Schlimm (McGill) for alerting me today about Professor McCarty's death in November, which I had missed.)
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Philosopher Kathleen Stock (Sussex) recognized in Queen’s “Honours” for 2020…
…with an OBE for "services to higher education," no doubt in recognition of her advocacy for free intellectual discussion of the idea of "gender identity" and the ramifications of replacing biological sex with "gender identity" for various legal protections afforded women. Professor Stock uses the occasion to note some of the threats to the former…
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The Dunning-Kruger effect: just statistical noise?
With a whole blog category devoted to the phenomenon ("the less they know, the less they know it"), it would be disappointing if this is true. But I'm sure it isn't, so there!
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The “most visited” categories on the blog, 2020
Of course, "Philosophy in the News" dominated, as well as, this year, "Coronavirus." But here were the five most popular other categories (in alphabetical order) after those two big ones: Academic Freedom, Authoritarianism and Fascism Alerts, Philosophy Updates, The New Infantilism, and "The less they know, the less they know it." (Surprisingly, "Chris Bertram" almost…
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2020 in review, 4th quarter: October, November, December
October Another academic freedom case, at the University of New Hampshire The First Amendment is apparently hard to understand Classics professor at UT Austin defamed as a "pedophile" by deranged students has now sued them MA programs in philosophy, with funding Do philosophers make the world a better place? Thoughts from the late John Gardner…
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2020 in review, 3rd quarter: July, August, September
July (mostly on hiatus this month) Several dozen Princeton faculty calls for violation of their colleagues' right to academic freedom Board of Illinois Wesleyan spares philosophy–this time August How will the pandemic and economic crisis affect the landscape of higher education? 2020-21 PGR postponed due to COVID-19 President of the University of Southern Maine understands…
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Some free philosophy from Oxford University Press
Most-read (online) journal articles and book chapters of 2020.
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“In Search of Beethoven”
The greatest musical genius of them all was born 250 years (and 10 days) ago. You will, I promise, have a very pleasant Sunday watching this well-done documentary:
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2020 in review, 2nd quarter: April, May, June
April Best introductory texts to philosophy of law How universities can open next fall New German study of infection and virus transmission (this one got it right) A nice note from a philosopher in NYC, with two interesting twists Why Berkeley's mandatory diversity statements are unlawful "What's the deal with birds?" When the "war" against…
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Joe Walsh meets Xmas
40 years ago, in my misspent youth, I had planned to be a rock star, as it were. I played a passable rhythm guitar, I sang more in tune than Bob Dylan or Neil Young (not by much), and I wrote lots of songs. I was also fortunate to know a real rock musician, Tommy…
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2020 in review, 1st quarter: January, February, March
January Best introductory texts to philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, philosophy art/aesthetics, and ancient Greek and Roman philosophy Have you been rejected in a search requiring a mandatory "diversity statement"? Sartwell on "guilt by association" and the Twitter Red Guard Preposterous philosophical views: the poll results Peer-reviewed journal publishes a paper some people don't…
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In Memoriam: Leslie West (1945-2020)
Not a philosopher, but a famed guitarist from rock's Golden Age (1967-1972), born Leslie Weinstein, a nice Jewish boy from Long Island. Most famously, he played with the band Mountain (which took its name from West's bulk), and then later with Jack Bruce and Corky Laing in a trio. Here's a few numbers, some obscure,…
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Two recent books skeptical of meritocracy
Philosopher Agnes Callard (Chicago) comments.
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Philosopher’s Xmas card
(Thanks to Tom Carson for sending this along.)
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When your philosophy major comes home for the holiday…
…the family must prepare.
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Blast from the past: the job market and “stale” PhDs
Back in 2012. There may be less of an effect on PhDs in 2020 because of the world-historic catastrophe that everyone is familiar with, and the resulting collapse of the job market.
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Some observations about Twitter, esp. philosophy-related Twitter
Max Noichl, a graduate student at the University of Vienna, made a map of philosophy tweeters (based on followers and retweets) which is making the rounds on Twitter. I’m not really sure what it means, but it looks neat! (Mr. Noichl offers some explanation here.) Friends and colleagues like Leslie Green at Oxford and Queen’s,…
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Another useful document for the “war crimes” trials for Trump and the others who led America to disaster in the “war” on COVID
A gripping narrative from USA Today. (Thanks to Gregory Pence for the pointer.)
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Pfizer and Moderna vaccines compared…
…in an article by Helen Branswell, a very good and reliable journalist at StatNews. Some interesting details that I had not seen elsewhere (e.g., the minimum size of an order of the Pfizer vaccine is much larger than for Moderna, which will no doubt affect what entities, and where, order each). It is unlikely any…
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“Killology” and “sheepdogs”
Philosopher Susanna Siegel and a Harvard colleague comment. If there were any doubts that large parts of America are nuts, this essay will eliminate them.
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Differing perceptions of affirmative action
We noted after the election the fact that a solidly blue state like California, which voted nearly 2-1 for Biden over Trump, also rejected affirmative action by decisive margins. Philosopher Thomas Mulligan makes an interesting point in this op-ed about attitudes towards affirmative action (supported by research like this): Whites oppose affirmative action because they…
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Blast from the past: why it’s wonderful to study and teach philosophy
Back in 2011, but hopefully still true!
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COVID vaccine tracker: how many shots, and where (for the US)
Courtesy of Bloomberg.
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Great moments in obscure rock ‘n’ roll: T2, “In Circles,” 1970
From the debut album of British progressive rock band T2:
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JHP Book Prize for books published during 2019
Jean-Luc Solère (Boston College), the Book Review editors of Journal of the History of Philosophy asked me to share this announcement,which I am happy to do: The 2020 Journal of the History of Philosophy Book Prize (books published in 2019) is awarded to: Sanford Shieh (Wesleyan University) for his Necessity Lost: Modality and Logic in Early…
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The lost language of “Rotwelsch”
This is interesting, if not our standard fare around here.
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*Early* symptoms of COVID: some differences by age
This is a useful compilation and visualization of some data on symptoms in the first seven days of a COVID infection.
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Ideology watch: the NYT on Milton Friedman, or how to whitewash the actual logic of capitalism
One of my sons called my attention to this New York Times essay purporting to commemorate and analyze a famous popular piece by Milton Friedman in which he suggested that businesses should have as their only objective what is, in fact, their only objective, namely, maximizing profit. This can be their only objective on pain…
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Five philosophers win NEH Fellowships for research projects
They are: Richard Cross (Notre Dame), Katharina Kraus (Notre Dame), Samuel Newlands (Notre Dame), Christopher Pincock (Ohio State), and Susanna Schellenberg (Rutgers). (Thanks to J.C. Beall for the pointer.)
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Berggruen Prize abandons any pretense of being interested in philosophy
This year's prize makes it official, but it was clear enough from last year's. This is what happens when intellectuals are hostage to fickle rich people with money to burn. (Thanks to Steven Hales for the pointer.)
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“How Race Politics Liberated the Elites”
Some interesting points in this essay (and some less plausible ones); an excerpt: In The Revolt of the Elites, Christopher Lasch spelled out in greater detail the role that claims of racial and sexual oppression play in securing release from allegiance to the nation — not just for those who identify as its victims, but…
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Statins and COVID
We noted many months ago the possibility that statins (which reduce cholesterol) may help prevent severe cases of COVID. Now research from UC San Diego confirms this and reveals a possible mechanism. (One of the few things we know about Trump's health history is that he takes statins, by the way; whether that played a…
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Blast from the past: philosophy in 2011
2020 in review will be coming up soon, but here's 2011. Kind of amusing. This was before online philosophy cracked up in 2014.
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False accusations of pedophilia can get someone killed, esp. in Texas!
Perhaps this will help the benighted classics professors understand why Professor Hubbard of UT Austin is suing those who falsely accuse him of pedophilia: a philosopher driving from Austin to Houston wrote me to share a copy of a bumper sticker he observed on a pickup truck:
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News and views about philosophy, the academic profession, academic freedom, intellectual culture, and other topics. The world’s most popular philosophy blog, since 2003.
This is sharply at variance with my understanding of the situation. The general consensus for some while has been that…
This is shocking and tragic news. I’ve known Dale since we tried to hire him at Bowling Green State way…
On the plus side, advances are being made in missile defence – including in laser technology (‘star wars’) – which…
Bill and I had adjacent offices for my 15 years at Purdue. My fondest memory has little to do with…
Yes, Ellsberg’s experience was in the 50s and 60s. I don’t know enough about these issues to have anything meaningful…
I haven’t read The Doomsday Machine, but wasn’t Ellsberg’s experience in the 50s and 60s? When Eisenhower was writing pre-delegation…
I am shell shocked. Dale was an exemplary and creative moral philosophy, rigorously engaged with the most foundational issues across…